Individual Report: H20648 Charles BELTZ

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Corporal	Charles	Michael
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Winnipeg MB	Manitoba	1918-02-09
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	A

Transportation - Home Base to Hong Kong

Members of 'C' Force from the East travelled across Canada by CNR troop train, picking up reinforcements enroute. Stops included Valcartier, Montreal, Ottawa, Armstrong ON, Capreol ON, Winnipeg, Melville SK, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Vancouver, arriving in Vancouver on Oct 27 at 0800 hrs.

The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the local soldiers that were with Brigade Headquarters from Winnipeg to BC travelled on a CPR train to Vancouver.

All members embarked from Vancouver on the ships AWATEA and PRINCE ROBERT. AWATEA was a New Zealand Liner and the PRINCE ROBERT was a converted cruiser. "C" Company of the Rifles was assigned to the PRINCE ROBERT, everyone else boarded the AWATEA. The ships sailed from Vancouver on Oct 27th and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16th, having made brief stops enroute at Honolulu and Manila.

Equipment earmarked for 'C' Force use was loaded on the ship DON JOSE, but would never reach Hong Kong as it was rerouted to Manila when hostilities commenced.

On arrival, all troops were quartered at Nanking Barracks, Sham Shui Po Camp, in Kowloon.

Battle Information

Killed in action at Mount Butler. For a detailed description of the battle from a Canadian perspective, visit Canadian Participation in the Defense of Hong Kong (published by the Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters).

Wounded Information

No wounds recorded.

Commemorative Feature

A map detailing the location of this feature can be found in this soldier's vault. (See Vault explanation below in the Links and Other Resources block) .

Site Description	Location	Province	Map Reference	Lat/Long	Date
Beltz Lake	northwest of Wekusko Lake, Manitoba	Manitoba	63 K/16	55 00' 00"; 100 27' 20"	1973

Other Military or Public Service

No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

Death and Cemetery Information

Date of Death (y-m-d)	Cause of Death	Death Class
1941-12-19		Killed In Action
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan Memorial	Column 25.	NA

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Corporal C. M. Beltz- Corporal Charles Michael Beltz, 24, was born and educated in Winnipeg and prior to enlisting with the Cameron's in August, 1940, farmed at Gypsumville, Manitoba. He transferred to the Winnipeg Grenadier 3 days before they left for Hong Kong. Surviving besides his widow and two daughters, Geraldine and Connie, who reside at 307 Carlton Street, are his father, H. Beltz, of Rivers, Manitoba, three brothers, Kelly of Rivers, Paul of Virden, and Private John, prisoner of war Hong Kong, and one sister, Mrs. A. Toskie who resides on Agnes Street.

This SAI WAN MEMORIAL honours over 2000 men of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. The SAI WAN MEMORIAL is in the form of a shelter building 24 metres long and 5.5 metres wide. It stands at the entrance to Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery, outside Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. From the semi-circular forecourt, two wide openings lead to the interior of the building. The names are inscribed on panels of Portland stone. The dedicatory inscription reads: 1939 - 1945 The officers and men whose memory is honoured here died in the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941 and in the ensuing years of captivity and have no known grave. The northern side of the Memorial is open and four granite piers support the copper roof. From a commanding position 305 metres above sea level, it looks out over the War Cemetery where some 1,500 men lie buried, and across the water to Mainland China - a magnificent view of sea and mountains.

Links and Other Resources

There may be more information on this individual available elsewhere on our web sites - please use the search tool found in the upper right corner of this page to view sources.

General Comments

H20648 Charles BELTZ and Elizabeth Central Park Winnipeg MB 1941

Corporal Charles Michael Beltz, born 9 Feb 1918, Rivers, Manitoba.
Died age 24, 19 December 1941 in Hong Kong as reported in Winnipeg Free Press on January 6, 1943.
Remains buried in Hong Kong Memorial Cemetery.
Survived by two daughters Geraldine Isabel Deanne Beltz, born about 1938 and Elizabeth Constance “Connie” Beltz born about March 1940, residing at 397 Carlton street, Winnipeg, as at 23 September 1940.
Son of Harry Beltz of Rivers, Manitoba. Brother of Kelly of Rivers, Paul of Virden, and Private John, prisoner of war, Hong Kong, and his sister Mrs. A. Toskie of Agnes Street.
Worked as a carpenter before war. Spoke English and Polish. Completed grade 9.
Mother’s name Mary.
Excerpts from report provided by Vince Lopata in Dec 2016

'C' Force Family Connections:

Brother to H6417 John Beltz

End of Report.
Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.
Back to 'C' Force Home Page

Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
1. Service numbers for officers ("X") are locally generated for reporting only. During World War II officers were not allocated service numbers until 1945.
2. 'C' Force soldiers who died overseas are memorialized in the Books of Remembrance and the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, both sponsored by Veterans Affairs Canada. Please use the search utility at VAC to assist you.
3. Some birthdates and deathdates display as follows: 1918-00-00. In general, this indicates that we know the year but not the month or day.
4. Our POW camp links along with our References link (near the bottom of the 'C' Force home page) are designed to give you a starting point for your research. There were many camps with many name changes. The best resource for all POW camps in Japan is the Roger Mansell Center for Research site.
5. In most cases the rank displayed was the rank held before hostilities. Some veterans were promoted at some point prior to eventual post-war release from the army back in Canada. When notified of these changes we'll update the individual's record.
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7. In some cases the References displayed as part of this report generate questions because there is no indication of their meaning. They were inherited with the original database, and currently we do not know what the source is. We hope to solve this problem in future.
8. We have done our best to avoid errors and omissions, but if you find any issues with this report, either in accuracy, completeness or layout, please contact us using the link at the top of this page.
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